RWBY: When the dust settles
by Bznboy
Summary: Four strangers, bound by a pact of a universe, returned to each other; One learned to defy fate, to turn the inevitable to the impossible; Another gave his life, so that he could crush even gods for his family. The last were the Siblings, who exiled themselves in their heart. Rating T for possible swearing.


**Hi fans! I back with a new story. Unfortunately, the SAO's fan fiction sequel is still under works. While this idea pop out fully developed. So I ended up writing this story to get it off my mind, leave a review if you want me to continue this or not.**

**Chapter 1: No longer "Mad"**

* * *

_Four strangers, bound by a pact of a universe, returned to each other;_

_One learned to defy fate, to turn the inevitable to the impossible;_

_Another gave his life, so that he could crush even gods for his family._

_The last were the Siblings, who exiled themselves in their heart._

…

_The rest of the plate is missing_

* * *

The City of Vale…

A renowned city that frequently produces well-known to legendary huntsmen and huntresses…

Some say that the combination of renaissance and modern culture that's unique to this city is the reason why Huntsmen and Huntresses are willing to dedicate their life to protecting it.

Pedestrians walk by the streets every day, smiling to passing strangers as if they known each other for years. Their radiant smile seems to make the dull but comfy atmosphere look even friendlier. Waiters and Waitresses went about, serving their customers with a happy smile.

It was a beautiful night to the people in Vale…

Beautiful… except…

…except for the two figures that burst out from a nearby alleyway, their cloaks hiding their face.

They ran by the restaurant without so much as a glance, clearly in a rush to head somewhere.

"How much further till the meeting point?" A young male's voice resounded from one of the figures as they ran through the slightly crowded walkway.

"About a minute or so…" was the cool, feminine reply from the other.

"Damn… they might be gone by then! Can you go any faster?" the teenage boy questioned, turning his head around to face the female. Visible purple strands of hair protruded from his slightly tanned face, as hazel eyes worriedly looked over the female.

"I would be going faster if I could…" snorted the girl, revealing pale blue hair as well as skin and eyes of the same shade.

The duo rounded the corner, heading straight for a massive gate. Said gate was one of the ways for travelers and hunters to leave the city. Seeing the gates, the boy started shouting!

"Azure! Hey Azure!"

The siblings kept running, the boy continues to scream in the direction of the gates until they neared the gantry.

"Huff… Huff…" Both figures slowed down to a halt, wheezing hard to catch their breath. A nearby Policeman walked up to them, water bottle in hand.

"If you're looking for Azure and her group, they're gone."

His breathing back to normal, the man straightened up, leaning slightly on the policeman with his hands.

"H…How long?" Glancing down at his watch, the policeman replied.

"Two minutes a—"

"Damn it… Now we're stuck in Vale…" the man cried, frustrated. His "sister", having regained her breath, placed her arm on the man's shoulder.

"What should we do…?" He pondered; taking what seems to be a ticket out of his pocket, staring intently at it, as if trying to burn the numbers printed on the piece of paper.

The policeman once again glanced at his watch after looking at the timing on the ticket, it read 00 01 hours.

The ticket read, "Usable till 00 00 hours".

"What rotten luck…" The teenager sighed, placing a palm on his eyes. The "sister" stood there, watching him without any expression.

Walking away from the gates, the duo sat down near a restaurant, the male thinking hard on their future while the female observed the people around them. She noticed a group of four suspicious individuals approaching them. Facing the teenage boy, she interrupted him.

"… but getting a job with the police would probably mean we have to do paper work, which I hate. So we can't—"

"Byzantium." That one word snapped him out of his rant, immediately, he scanned the surroundings for whatever she has considered suspicious, noting the four individuals who were about to reach them.

Any words I say now would be overheard by them right now, the boy, now known as Byzantium thought to himself as he raised his right arm and pointed at it, followed by pointing down, and finally towards the group of four.

_Don't attack them unless I bring the hand down,_ the female noted in her minds and he began to speak.

"'Sup guys, what business do you have with us?"

"Hey lady, why don't you ditch the boy and let a real man give you a good time?" One of the four men said, completely ignoring Byzantium, her eyes twitched slightly at the words he said, but did nothing.

Two of the four, Dubbed Goon 3 and 4 stood between the "siblings" while the other two, Goon 1 and 2 stood on the either side of her view. She imitated a worried glance to her "brother", noting that he still hasn't given the order.

An awkward silence passed between the two parties, since she has not spoken. Byzantium gave an awkward cough as he spoke again.

"Why are you guys here?"

"That's none of your business, small fry, what we want to do with your sister doesn't matter to you." Goon number 3 spat, trying to looking intimidating.

"If it doesn't involve my brother, I'm not interested." She stated, standing up from her seat. She tried to sit on the other side of her brother, which was quickly blocked by Goon 3 and 4.

"Now, now, don't be hasty. You'll enjoy it, I'm sure!" Goon 4 spoke.

"But you heard me; I rather explore the place with him than go with you guys." She stated matter-of-factly, spotting the signal from Byzantium; His right arm was down, with his left was miming a reverse grip.

_Fight, they're holding knives._

"Now see here, lass… I've got a little knife here, and I've been told that being stabbed hurts; do you want to know how it feels?" Goon 1 spoke, brandishing said knife behind her. She felt the cold tip of the knife prodding her back, as if trying to scare her.

_Really… he should know how the knife feels when it dig into their skin, how dense is he?_

Giving a sigh, she replied,

"And I've heard that my punches feel like maces swinging down at full force, do you want to know how that feels?"

A brief hesitation was enough for the woman to spin around and elbow Goon 1 in his right cheek, a resounding 'crack' was heard as the man went sailing over the floor.

_That's definitely a broken jaw_, she smirks as the group watched. Byzantium wasted no time capitalizing on the shock evident of their face, slamming both his palms on each side of Goon 3's ears. He went down, unable to fight without the sense of balance.

With the sides evened, and the momentary shock gone from the goons, Goon 2 pulled out his knife and swung at the lady, intending to do some damage to suppress her. Dodging a couple of those strikes, she managed to prevent a third swipe by grabbing the arm. Panicking, Goon 2 tried to punch her, which was stopped by massive bracer that was attached to the forearm of her right arm.

Goon 2's face morph into a face of terror at the sight of the lady's feral grin, fear bind his limbs as he helplessly watches her fist crashing into his face.

"That one looked like it hurts, Cerulean." Byzantium commented nonchalantly, she turned around to watch his art. Goon 4 lay on his head, legs right in front of his face, and his left arm was bent at an unnatural angle.

_An arm lock into a Head Suplex, interesting combination,_ she mused, _the arm probably broken when he hit his head, and blacking out from both the suplex and the broken arm is normal_.

"Yours looks even worse, By."

"Don't call me that, I'm not Bi!" he hollered lightly.

"Fine, Fine… Byzan…" she giggled.

* * *

Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon Academy had a tiring week.

Enrollment to Beacon Academy was at an all time low, not because it was not well-known (because it was), but because the number of Huntsmen and Huntresses in-training wasn't very high this year.

Having said that, he had just invited one promising student from Signal Academy, Ruby Rose, after Glynda witnessed her skill wielding a High Caliber Sniper-Scythe or HCSS for short, thought she may have to be moved two years ahead, but Ozpin was confident that she would catch up easily.

Now, all he wanted to do was rest, and rest he did; dressed in his usually black suit and green turtleneck undershirt, and stopping at a nearby restaurant for a cup of coffee. He saw a couple of figures dashing past the eatery with much speed, before returning back with downcast faces. Curious as to what they would do next, as their plan was abruptly halted, he observed the two members quickly and effectively took down four hooligans that were disturbing them.

From what he just observed, they had potential as much as Ruby, but they would really need a weapon to deal with Grimm: perhaps something like what one Yang Xiao Long had, metal gauntlets combined with a shotgun mechanism. He'll have to ask Qrow to create such weaponry if he did manage to convince them to help. Then there's also the strangely large bracer on one of the cloaked figure's arm.

Finishing the coffee he had bought, he made up his mind; he would offer them a chance to get into Beacon. Leaving a small tip on the table, he strolled towards the pair. When the duo spotted him, he tried to speak to them.

"Good Eve—"

Tried, being the keyword here, as one of the figures, a female dashed straight towards him, arms posed to strike.

Ducking under the first punch, he blocked the next kick with his cane. The cloaked female retreated, allowing space for the cloaked male to strike him at a blind spot, had Ozpin not sensed his position. He tumbled forward, trying to avoid the next attack from the girl, which was a knee to the stomach with much success. Undeterred, she attempted an array of punches and kicks, all blocked by the master huntsman. One in particular flew over his left shoulder, setting her off balance. He capitalized on it by stabbing his cane into her stomach, sending her stumbling back.

However, Ozpin could not catch his breath as once again, the male attacked him from the rear, a heel kick aimed for his head. Gritting his teeth to numb the pain, he spun around, making some space for himself.

The white-head surveyed the situation around him, and know it wasn't good. Both figures were keeping themselves on his front and back, circling him. Ozpin's heart was pounding with adrenaline, and he really was interested in how this fight would develop. His began raising it to the side, and both figures tensed up…

… And he drops his cane to the side, raising his hands up in surrender.

"I am not here to fight." He stated, staring at the cloaked male. They are clearly trained fighters, being able to synchronize their attacks so easily. The figures looked at each other uneasily, clearly not trusting him. He continued,

"I wish to make you an offer."

A moment of silence passed as the pair conversed with each other with complex hand movements. The male figure then asked.

"What kind of offer?" Ozpin half-sighed, half-laughed as he replied,

"I'd rather give the offer when I'm under a more… favorable situation. "

"And that just means you want a favorable situation…" The woman muttered, but Ozpin ignored it and continued.

"You seem, a friend of mine is coming over to meet me here, and I'd rather not let two high-potential hunters like you get caught in her fury. Shall we discuss this like gentlemen?"

The couple glanced at each other for a moment, a raised eyebrow from the male, followed by a tilt of the female's head and ending with a nod, before they let their guard down.

"We accept." This made Ozpin smile in relief.

"That's good, because I was ready to fight." was the serious voice of Glynda Goodwitch. The trio turned to face her and her three earthen spikes dematerializing, as she returned her riding crop to her holster.

"That's one _serious _woman I don't want to mess with…" The male commented offhandedly.

* * *

Settling down at the restaurant nearby ("Again?" muttered Ozpin), greetings were given and names were exchanged. The man, who called himself Ozpin, treated them to a dinner when their stomach growled.

"Thanks for the meal, Ozpin." Byzantium said. Cerulean hesitated for a moment before thanking him as well.

"Yeah… Thanks…"

"… And uh… sorry about before, we were still cautious about any possible enemies approaching us." explained the purple head, giving an embarrassed smile.

"So I've noticed," was Ozpin's reply. He glanced briefly at his watch before asking.

"What were the two of you doing so late in Vale?" At this, Byzantium stopped eating to reply.

"We were planning to leave Vale, actually."

"Leave? Why would you do that?" Glynda questioned, clearly unused to hearing such things.

"To be fair, we were just passing through Vale, but we got left behind by our group."

"Your group?"

"You see, we're nomadic travelers. We prefer to keep moving around the continent and exploring what we can find. Our group is one of the more frequent visitors of Vale, so we learned your languages to communicate with the locals."

"I see…" was Ozpin's reply, prompting him to go on.

"Our group had a simple policy: If you get left behind, you stay where you are until we return. It's a way to not only keep people from chasing us and dying to Grimm, but a way to keep us from being late. We'd just… gotten unlucky and were left behind in Vale."

"So… you're currently homeless, as well as jobless, if I'm not mistaken?" Ozpin concluded. Byzantium gave a sheepish nod as he finished eating his chicken.

"In that case, here's my offer: I will provide lodgings and jobs for you. In return, I want you to do your best at anything I ask of you to do, you are free to voice your concerns and give suggestions, but anything you do for me, you do the best you can."

"That's… awfully lenient." muttered Cerulean, sipping her Iced Lemon tea.

"The way I see it, it's definitely worth the price. You guys are already well-trained in combat, which your jobs require you to be, and you have the potential of doing even better." Ozpin explained.

_So, a job that requires fighting, huh_, Byzantium observed with a small smile. He was fine with either sort of job that did not require paperwork.

"Well… I'm fine with it, but if Cerulean does not want to do so, it's ultimately up to her." He joked.

"Eh? Why me?" Cerulean complained.

"I see..." Ozpin noted how hesitant she was.

"Uh… I…"

The three of them watched the blue-head fidgeted nervously as she considered the offered carefully.

After a long amount of stuttering, and getting kicked out of the restaurant due to the closing time, she finally said.

"If Byzantium's fine with it… I… Guess…" She ended lamely.

_She's really indecisive… _Ozpin sighed.

"So… what job are you giving us?" Byzantium asked.

"Right… What I need you guys to do…"

"What are we doing? Slaying monsters? Tracking down High Value Targets? Or searching for lost treasure?"

"No, what I need you to do…" Ozpin started, filling Byzantium with anticipation.

"…is to become Hunters-in-training."

…_What…?_

* * *

"…last call for the ship to Beacon. I repeat; last call!" came the call of the operator. Byzantium stared at the huge ship in awe, despite seeing it last night; the giant metal ship was still a sight to behold for him.

_Hard to believe that Hunters-in-training schools get to use all this, just how rich are they?_ Byzantium wondered.

"We should really move; the ship's leaving soon." Byzantium heard the voice of his "sister". Turning around he spotted her not far away. With the cloak no longer hiding her body, one could see the large amount of armor that she wears; a breastplate to prevent chest strikes, a pair of shoulder plates for stopping arm maiming, armored gloves and knee high boots. Standing at a height of a hundred and sixty (160) centimeters (5' 3") with her pale blue hair styled in a bob cut. She wore a simple blue leotard with metal, waist-high fishnets underneath all the armor, with her lower body covered by three pieces of cloth flowing all the way to her shins. These three pieces of cloth were connected by a belt around her waist which held all her pouches, giving an image of a skirt on her. While her left arm had more armor plating that her right, the large bracer was still on her right arm, ready to be deployed for combat use. Ozpin was pretty surprised that her weapon of choice is a shield as it is a more suited for defensive purposes. But after showing the sharpened edge of Guardian Crusher, the name of her shield, Ozpin had relented.

In stark contrast, Byzantium was dressed rather lightly, a purple shirt with black cargo pants with a brown belt, and a black-dark green checkered jacket. Armor is only visible at his shoulders and knees, preventing critical injuries as well as allowing him to knee and elbow enemies with ease. He wore shin-high boots with purple highlights, allowing him to travel through swamps and marshes with ease when he was with Azure. Standing at a height of a hundred and seventy (170) centimeters (5' 7"), which allowed him to easily scout out any location he needs to be in, he left his should-long hair untamed and messy, partly because he liked the way it is right now, and partly because it's too much of a hassle for the barber they approached.

Picking up their luggage, containing all their spare clothes and dust, the pair boarded up the airship, staring in awe at the intricate designs of the interior. As neither of them had ever been on an airship, they were unsure on what to go. Finally deciding to sit at one of the nearby tables, they relaxed fully, no longer nervous of others judging them.

"Still… Why did Ozpin want us to be Hunters-in-training? He could have us pose as Hunters if he wanted." mused Byzantium.

"It's because we have yet to shown any potential fighting monsters, or Grimm as they call them." Replied Cerulean, her eyes shifting constantly to find possible hiding spots and choke points they could use in defending themselves in the ship.

"Hmm…" her "brother" sighed.

"Oh… I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me, this is the best day ever!" yelled one of the new students.

"Well somebody's got lucky with Ozpin." smiled Byzantium, staring in the direction of a certain blonde and brunette sisters.

"Don't stare…" came Cerulean's soft complaint. Byzantium laughed when he saw her pouting at him.

"Don't worry, don't worry, we'll only be here to a year after all…" he reassured her.

As the ship lifted off, the report on the Faunus Civil rights protest incident the day before was interrupted when a Glynda Goodwitch hologram appeared.

"Hello and welcome to Beacon." She began, almost immediately, everyone in the vicinity turned to a nearby hologram that appeared in each corner of the room

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch; you are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future huntsman and huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it."

"I wonder how many times she has repeated that."

"…probably… twenty… thirty times?" Cerulean tried to guess, receiving a pat on her head.

"It was rhetorical, don't worry."

"You have demonstrated the courage needed to uphold such a task, and now it's our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world."

The hologram disappeared shortly after that, giving a clear view on the scenery around Beacon Academy.

"Whoa…" the "siblings" whispered in union.

"Welcome to Beacon… huh?" the young lady smiled at the comment.

* * *

**And stop! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of RWBY: When the dust settles!**


End file.
